CAA Football Rewind - Dec. 1
Rob Washburn
Maine 55, Jacksonville State 27
Box Score
Sophomore Chris Ferguson passed for a career-high five touchdowns and freshman Ramon Jefferson contributed a career-high 186 yards and 2 TD's on the ground as 7th-seeded Maine (9-3) rolled past Jacksonville State, 55-27, in the second round of the FCS playoffs. With the victory, the Black Bears advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2011 and will travel to 2nd-seeded Weber State.
Maine jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter as Ferguson connected on a 4-yard TD pass to Jaquan Blair and scoring tosses of 41 and 4 yards to Earnest Edwards. After the Gamecocks rallied back to within 21-14 early in the second quarter, the Black Bears responded with three more TD's as Ferguson hit Micah Wright from 20 yards out and Edwards and Jefferson scored on the ground to make it 42-14 at the half. JSU never got closer than 22 points in the second half.
Maine's defense limited JSU to a 1-for-14 effort on third down, recorded four sacks and forced three turnovers. Linebacker Deshawn Stevens led the unit with 10 tackles.
Colgate 23, James Madison 20
Box Score
Chris Puzzi's 38-yard field goal as time expired lifted 8th-seeded Colgate past James Madison, 23-20. The Dukes (9-4) took a 7-0 lead on the opening drive of the game as Cardon Johnson scored from two yards out to cap a 57-yard drive. Ethan Ratke booted field goals of 34 and 38 yards to give a JMU a 13-6 advantage early in the third quarter, but Colgate (10-1) found the end zone twice in the third quarter to move on top, 20-13. Midway through the fourth quarter, Dukes' sophomore D'Angelo Amos returned a punt 42 yards to the CU 44 and quarterback Ben DiNucci scored on a 7-yard run six plays later to tie the game at 20-20.The Raiders were able to stop a JMU fake punt attempt in the final three minutes and drove into position for the game-winning field goal.
JMU's offense piled up 392 yards against Colgate's top-ranked defense. DiNucci passed for 192 yards and ran for a team-high 76 yards, but was intercepted five times. Johnson ran for 66 yards and a TD on 13 carries. The Dukes' defense held the Raiders to 330 total yards, with linebacker Dimitri Holloway recording a team-high 13 tackles.